With Lewis Hamilton now set to drive for Ferrari from the 2025 season onwards, George Russell finds himself as the de facto leader at Mercedes with 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli drafted in as a replacement for the #44 driver. With Russell set to compete in his seventh F1 season this year despite only being 26, he understands he’s entered into a transitional phase in his career where he is seen as one of the more experienced drivers.
“I recognize my role as a [more] experienced driver. There are many young drivers who arrive on the starting grid, and this makes you understand that you are no longer a young person. I’m entering a new chapter in my career,” he said as quoted by Formula Passion.
“My goals are very much the same and the approach has not changed.”
Enjoy the first instalment of a two-part exclusive interview with George, as he and the team look forward to 2025
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Russell believes he is at that age when most F1 drivers achieve success in the sport. He cited the examples of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton to explain his point.
“Lewis was 29 years old when he joined Mercedes and started winning all the championships, while Michael Schumacher was 30 years old at Ferrari. Today everyone starts younger and younger; my debut took place at the age of 20, but now I feel ready to fill roles within the team,” he explained.
Russell is confident in teenager Kimi Antonelli’s F1 prospects
Antonelli’s debut has sparked immense discussion around the Italian’s chances of driving a front-running car with such less experience. However, his teammate Russell is pretty confident that the 18-year-old has what it takes to succeed in the sport.
“He does not yet have the necessary experience, but I am sure that he will prepare very quickly,” believes Russell. Mercedes have given Antonelli a lot of track time in older-spec F1 machinery to get him up to speed with the challenge of a full-time season in the sport.
However, the Brackley-based team is aware that the 18-year-old will make mistakes. But the team is fine with that eventuality as they see the 2025 season as a transitionary phase for the competition as they gear up for the all-important 2026 regulations reset.
Team principal Toto Wolff even said that he doesn’t expect Antonelli to be fighting for wins and podiums from the get-go. But the Italian has the chance of breaking Max Verstappen’s record of being the youngest-ever F1 race winner if he can prove his boss’ hypothesis wrong and win any of the first three rounds of the 2025 championship.
